Readers' corner

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Do like the Romans

Sir-- When Americans travel to another country we need to follow the laws of these countries or will be subject to prosecution in their system. Why is this hard for Americans to understand? Just because you are an American doesn't mean you follow US laws when abroad. If you live in a foreign country as an American citizen, you have absolutely no business taking part in anti-government groups that only cause further dissension.

While there are Americans taking shelter in the US Embassy in Cairo, they should count themselves lucky that they were not picked up and tossed in an Egyptian jail. I think what amounts to a house arrest at the embassy is far better than a foreign jail or prison. As long as we keep meddling in other countries' affairs we will never be free from war. It is one thing to intercede when innocent lives are at risk; it's quite another to plant the seeds of revolution and civil unrest based on our perception of freedom for others.

Nancy Mayor
Washington
USA

There goes freedom

Sir-- It is a knife's edge. Egypt could fall into hardcore Muslim control very easily.

The clock would then be turned back 400 years. Religious states are never progressive and usually do not succeed. Look up pre-1979 Iran, then see after Islam took control.

Chuck Craig
New York
USA

Test time

Sir-- The Muslim Brotherhood is going to have to prove it can well represent their populous and show tolerance for personal freedoms. Good luck. I hope it works, but you have a lot to prove to your country and the world. Now that you have the power I hope you accept the responsibility for the decisions you make. The world is watching.

Nour Fayez
Florida
USA

Not needed

Sir-- Not a good sign for Egypt. The back story would appear to me that El-Baradei realised that the Muslim Brotherhood which swept the elections to write the new constitution (not the youth we saw in Tahrir Square) are going to put in place a Sharia law-dominated state, possibly with military backing and do not need a liberal, Western-friendly president like he would be. Bad news for Israel and long-term American interests. Thank you President Obama for working against long-term US interests by encouraging the fall of Mubarak and the loss of the more moderate, if somewhat corrupt, leadership under Mubarak which had better protected the Egyptian Christian minority, kept the peace with Israel for over 30 years, and had prevented the rise of yet another fundamentalist Islamic state.

Werner Cervik
Michigan
USA

Word power

Sir-- Re 'Reinventing the Middle East lexicon' (Al-Ahram Weekly 12-18 January) this dissecting of the newspeak used in the Middle East is germane. Ultimately, political control is all about language and who controls words. By controlling words one can control the minds of others for good and bad.

Jonathon Blakeley
London
UK